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I have 4 PS3 engines currently and a 44ton switcher on order. 

 

All Railking:

PS3 0-6-0

PS3 2-8-2

PS3 Dash 8

PS3 ES44

 

I run my trains in conventional via MTH Z-1000s. 

 

Very occasionally and with no obvious "order" (only happens at random and again very occasionally a PS3 engine will start up with sound instantly upon track power being applied. Here is a break down of what happens

 

1) Put engine on track

2) Apply power

3) Engine lights and sound immediately come on, similar to PS2. No other features are functional. If I attempt to move the engine before the "required" 20 second or so wait, it will immediately go dark and silent

4) If power is reapplied, the engine will respond normally and sit silent with the headlight on until it is charged up. It will run as intended.

 

Again, happens very occasionally. Do I have a board/cap issue here? I've seen it discussed before and seen possible indication of a bad "chain file" (whatever that may be). I've also contact MTH and have had techs say clean the track but otherwise we don't have a clue. Of course, clean track, etc makes no difference. 

 

I also saw an engine being demoed at the LHS do the exact same thing. I would take a video but it can be hard to catch. 

Last edited by SJC
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I had the same issue with a brand new RS1. Put it on the track and sound immediately came on and when I tried to go forward all shut down. My problem repeated and it didn't seem to matter if I waited for the cap to charge. I shut it down and 5 minutes later when I tried it it worked perfectly and continued to work without recurrence. I haven't run this engine much but I haven't seen the problem again. 

I think it's time for a little PS3 discussion. I did a post earlier that described my start up problems when the engines apparently miss the watch dog signal. My own opinion is that the capacitor is not charged fast enough to catch it. Barry indicated that maybe the TIU's are power limited if enough load is present. I also would like to comment that the PS3 systems are more sensitive to signal strength or the lack of. At this point in time, I would favor a PS2, 3Volt system over the PS3. This is my experience on my layout. 

Pat

 

Good to know it happened to you. Makes me glad it isn't just me. 

 

GHD - I'm running conventional but when I had DCS on the layout, which BTW NEVER worked right even with full "10" track signal but I found similar things with PS3 engines. I like the PS3 engines overall but have not been happy with the "cheapening" of the products - My 2-8-2 doesn't coast to a stop like it should, Premature start ups, etc. I'd be more than happy to have the battery. Never had issues with PS2. Don't get me started on the "wireless drawbar"....

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